Nearly 500,000 people confirmed that cooking with coal or wood is at increased risk of eye diseases such as cataracts

About half of the world’s population, about 3.
8 billion people, use “dirty” solid fuels such as coal and wood for cooking
.

Although previous studies have shown that cooking with solid fuels may be associated with an increased risk of cataracts in women, it is unclear whether other eye diseases have similar associations, such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, and glaucoma

Recently, a large-scale study of nearly 500,000 people in China published in the journal PLOS Med revealed that long-term use of “dirty” solid fuels (coal or wood) for cooking will not only increase the risk of conjunctival diseases, but also increase cataracts and cataracts.
Risk of other more serious eye diseases
.

At the same time, switching to clean fuels (electricity or gas) seems to reduce the risk of eye diseases, highlighting the importance of access to clean fuels to global health

From a global perspective, since 2010, the proportion of the global population relying on solid fuels for cooking has decreased only slightly by 11%, and most of them live in low-income countries, especially in Africa and Asia
.

In China, about 400 million people still use solid fuels

In this study, researchers from the Department of Population Health (NDPH), Nuffield College, Oxford University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking University analyzed 486,532 adults aged 30 to 79 from the China Kadoorie Biobank biobank from 200 to 2008.
To evaluate the relationship between long-term use of solid fuel for cooking and the risk of conjunctivitis, cataracts, sclera, cornea, iris, ciliary body, and glaucoma
.

At the same time, the effects of long-term use of solid fuels and clean fuels on eye diseases were compared

The results show that compared with people who use clean fuels for cooking, solid fuel users tend to be older, female, rural residents, less educated, agricultural workers, frequent smokers, and use solid fuels to warm people
.

During the 10-year follow-up period, the participants had 4877 cases of conjunctival disease, 13,408 cases of cataract, 1583 cases of sclera, cornea, iris, and ciliary disease, and 1534 cases of glaucoma

Characteristics of baseline participants who use solid fuel for long-term cooking

The researchers further found that long-term use of solid fuel increased the risk of conjunctival disease, cataract and ciliary body disease by 32%, 17%, and 35%, respectively, but it was not related to the risk of glaucoma
.

People who switch from solid fuels to clean fuels seem to be less risky than those who continue to use solid fuels

The relationship between long-term exposure to cooking fuel and the incidence of major eye diseases, women (red) and men (blue)

Researchers said that in China, long-term use of solid fuels for cooking is not only a conjunctival disease, but also cataracts and other more serious eye diseases
.

Switching to clean fuels seems to reduce the risk, and the study emphasizes the importance of clean fuels to the health of the organism

In conclusion, this study provides new evidence linking the long-term use of solid fuels with the high risk of major eye diseases (conjunctival diseases, cataracts, and ciliary body) in the Chinese population
.

The correlation between wood and coal use appears to be similar and largely independent of smoking and other risk factors

Original source

Ka Hung Chan et al,Long-term solid fuel use and risks of major eye diseases in China: A population-based cohort study of 486,532 adults,PLOS Medicine(2021).
DOI: 10.
1371/journal.
pmed.
1003716